7 killed as jeep plunges down mountain slope on outskirts of Muzaffarabad

A passenger jeep carrying seven people, including a father and his two sons, plunged down a mountain slope near Muzaffarabad on Sunday, resulting in their deaths, officials reported. The vehicle had only covered three kilometers when the accident occurred around noon near Sathra Podemar village. According to police, the driver, 40-year-old Abdul Waheed, lost control of the jeep while driving through a section affected by a landslide, causing the vehicle to roll over multiple times before coming to a stop in a wreck.

All seven occupants met their end at the accident site, with their bodies scattered across the area. Muzaffarabad Additional Deputy Commissioner Zeeshan Nisar confirmed that residents retrieved the bodies, assisted by personnel from Rescue 1122. The deceased were identified as Abdul Waheed, Muhammad Khalid, Shafaat, Fayyaz Ahmed, and their sons Ubaid Fayyaz, Azam Fayyaz, and Iftikhar Hussain.

Road accidents are common in the mountainous regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, often attributed to poor road conditions, reckless driving, and poorly maintained vehicles. Authorities have also faced scrutiny over the fitness certification of aging and locally modified vehicles, as well as the effectiveness of enforcing transport safety regulations.

Earlier this week, four children and four others were killed and injured when their vehicle fell into a ravine approximately 500 meters deep in Neelum Valley. In May, four people, including two women, were killed and two injured after a passenger jeep plunged into a rocky streambed in the same area.